Gov. Bush, DCF end effort to block 13-year-old's abortion

May 4, 2005|By Maya Bell, Sentinel Staff Writer

Gov. Jeb Bush and his social-services agency gave up their legal battle Tuesday to prevent a 13-year-old foster child from ending her pregnancy, clearing the way for the girl to seek the abortion that she insisted was her right.

The state made its decision a day after West Palm Beach Circuit Judge Ronald Alvarez, citing medical evidence, ruled it was in the girl's best interest to terminate the pregnancy. She was in her 14th week.

Whether the girl, known as L.G. in court papers, had the abortion is confidential. But one of her attorneys seemed to indicate she wasted no time in carrying out what Alvarez ruled, over the objections of the state Department of Children & Families, was her constitutionally guaranteed choice to make.

"I can't tell you medical issues or procedures, but I can tell you the case is over," attorney James K. Green of West Palm Beach said, blasting the state for getting involved. "This is public policymaking at its worst. The governor and DCF should be ashamed of themselves."

But in Tallahassee, the governor said the department acted appropriately.

"It's a tragedy that a 13-year-old child would be in a vulnerable position where she could be made pregnant, and it's a tragedy that her baby will be lost," he said. "There's no good news in this at all. The department did the right thing to make the initial appeal to make sure that this was reviewed carefully."

The judge's decision drew harsh criticism from conservative Christian groups, igniting the same passions over the role of the government and the judiciary exhibited in Terri Schiavo's right-to-die case.

"Here you have yet another judge who has established a pattern of decisions that are contrary to stated public policy," said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council. "This is a clear example of a system that should be protecting this young girl and her unborn child, yet has failed miserably."

A ward of the state for at least four years, L.G. became pregnant after running away from a state-licensed group home in January. She said she had sex with a boy whom she would not name. She informed her foster-care worker of her pregnancy and requested that an abortion be arranged.

Instead, DCF asked Alvarez to forbid the abortion, arguing that L.G. was too young and immature to make the decision herself -- an argument her attorneys said was belied by the fact that she sought counseling about her options, the advice of adults and a physical exam before making a reasoned decision.

"I don't think I should have the baby because I'm 13, I'm in a shelter and I can't get a job," L.G. told Alvarez, according to a recording of a closed hearing.

Department lawyers also contended that state law forbids the agency from consenting to an abortion for any ward in its care.

Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which interceded on L.G.'s behalf, said that's true. But what DCF neglected to say, he added, is that the agency's consent is irrelevant.

"Florida law allows females, including female minors and female minors in state custody, to obtain reproductive-health services without the permission of their parents, the head of the DCF or the governor," Simon said. "The bottom line is L.G. didn't need anyone's permission to exercise her constitutional rights."

That's been the case, experts said, since the Florida Supreme Court's ruling in 1989 that struck down a state law requiring minors to obtain parental consent before undergoing an abortion. In that decision, the high court said the consent law violated the broad right to privacy voters placed in the state constitution in 1980.

Last fall, Florida voters rolled back that right somewhat by passing another constitutional amendment allowing the Legislature to enact a law requiring parental notice -- but not permission -- before a minor can abort a baby.

Lawmakers have yet to enact that law, but even had they, L.G.'s lawyers said, she still would have been in compliance because her legal guardian -- in this case, the state -- was notified of her plans.

"For a 13-year-old, she was extremely thorough," Simon said. "She notified her case worker. She sought counseling. She got a physical exam. What more could she do?"